Nabilone [trans-dl-1-hydroxy-3-(1',1'-dimethylheptyl)-6,6-dimethyl-6a,7,8,9,10,10a- hexahydrobenzo[b,d]pyran-9-one] is encompassed within a group of useful intermediates prepared by Farenholtz, et al., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 88, 2079 (1966), 89, 5934 (1967) for the preparation of .DELTA..sup.9 -THC (tetrahydrocannibinol) and its alkylated congeners having alkyl groups of from 1 to 10 carbon atoms at C-3. (.DELTA..sup.9 -THC is trans-dl-1-hydroxy-3-n-pentyl-6,6,9-trimethyl-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydrobenzo-[ b,d]pyran). Archer, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,928,598, 3,953,603, 3,9446,673, and 3,987,188 disclosed that nabilone, in addition to being a "useful intermediary", had activity as an anti-depressant, anti-anxiety, analgesic and/or sedative drug, and Archer and Lemberger further extended its useful actions to that of anti-emetic and for the treatment of glaucoma, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,087,545 and 4,087,547. Nabilone is not well absorbed from the intestine upon oral administration. Thakker, et al., J. Pharm. Pharmac., 29, 783 (1977) describe some useful formulations for nabilone including a dispersion in polyvinylpyrrolidinone. Thakker, et al. mix nabilone with PVP in a ratio of 1:2-20 in a solvent such as ethanol and then remove the solvent by evaporation in vacuo. The product thus obtained is a glassy solid which must first be broken up and then reduced to a fine powder in order to disperse it uniformally in other pharmaceutical excipients prior to filling into telescoping gelatin capsules.
It is an object of this invention to provide a granulation formulation for nabilone which avoids the inconvenience and difficulties of the aforesaid Thakker et al solid dispersion.